Today is Single Tasking Day! That’s doing one thing at a time… Go ahead, try it to boost productivity!
Oh how difficult it is! I am currently observing a self-declared “40 Days of Focus” for Lent as an exercise to slow down and carve out time to accomplish goals and to break the habit of multiple windows of distraction, especially those of social media.
Gandhi said,
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
Gandhi's quote on the wall of a trendy boutique.
(The picture above is from a recent trip to Calistoga where we practiced slowing down, including mud baths and shopping.)
How many of us thrive on the speed of driving our computer vehicles at max RPM with multiple processes running at the same time? We have multiple tabs open in our browsers and complain about Firefox crashing. (I noticed that Firefox doesn’t crash when I have only 1 or 2 instances of it hope with only a few tabs.)
Tweeting, chatting, answering emails, an “uh hu” and a nod to someone passing by… Twenty things at once! There’s an adrenaline rush! Oh, the need for speed!
I learned that February 22, 2010 is Single Tasking Day by doing something different and listening to the news on the radio. (Interestingly, I have become accustomed to getting most of my news online and through my Twitter RSS, but today I listened to the radio.)
Brain Damage?
The news story explained that multitasking produces a strain on the brain. Apparently studies have shown that doing too many things at once can lead to brain damage. (This may be going to far, but do we really understand neural pathways?)
I ponder…
Can we save our brains and rewire our neural pathways by single tasking?
ITBusiness.ca has an article about super charging your work day by single tasking:
What most people call multitasking is not the most productive and efficient way to work.
I have found that multi-taskers are often unaware of how they use their time …
It’s not rocket science – but it just requires prioritizing, delegation, focus, and, most importantly, commitment and discipline. Of course, as with most things in life, single tasking is easier said than done.
It takes practice and a ton of discipline. Confession: IT’S HARD!
Multitasking Parallels Listening
I’ve observed, during my recent “focus” approach, that I’m listening and hearing the message of what people are saying more. (My husband loves the undivided attention.) I’m reading blog posts and grasping the point, absorbing the comments as well. How? I’m not doing other things while talking to people, while reading. I’m single tasking and listening to understand.
- When you are talking with someone on the phone, how often do you hear them typing in the background?
- How often do you hear podcasts where the host is typing as the guest is talking?
Are they listening or are they multitasking?
Time for Rewiring
You should be able to rewire your brain by practicing times of focus, I hope.
Oh, I’m not giving up on socializing or multi-tasking at all. But for everything there is a season and a time for focusing on one task at a time. As The Byrds sang in “Turn! Turn! Turn!,” there is a time for everything.
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it’s not too late!
Observe Single Tasking Day. It’s not too late!
Practice doing one thing at a time to focus, boost productivity, and see if you can rewire your brain.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I read the article about brain damage myself… I must have been a multi-tasking fool in elementary school. Everything needs to be put into perspective in life with the question of whether the end truely justifies the means being formost. Also, the question of for who(m) and why are we doing this. An occassional burst of chaos in a work day is sometimes unavoidable however, planned train wrecks are never good. Take things easier and figure out exactly how much you really need to get done … not how much others want you to do.
Insightful comments, Peter! Having just returned from SMX West (Search Marketing Expo in Santa Clara), many discussions were had about marketing efforts and ROI.
Does the end justify the means?
I believe many of us active in search and social media feel bombarded with information and the fast rate of change and the need to keep up with the latest and be connected. Activity in social networks breeds “instant access.” Multitasking, where one is doing it for themselves or for other people, results in fewer things getting done.
Dana this is particularly relevant to me at the moment. I feel like a hamster on a wheel. Like you though, I’ve discovered that focus–or at least trying to focus–on working on one thing at a time does have its rewards. Not least because when you write your thoughts are clearer when they’re focused. Thanks for this.
Thank you, Patricia, for your transparency! I shall raise my hand to feeling like a hamster on a wheel! I look forward to both of us jumping off that wheel and collaborating more. Then we can focus on goals we’ve discussed as well.
One day and one thing at a time… That shall free up our brains to improve our productivity and produce some great stuff!